Terrorism plan foiled by Islamabad Police

The Parliament House, Diplomatic Enclave, ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) Headquarters, Presidency, Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Convention Centre and the Islamabad Club were the target of terrorist outfits, for which they had planned and prepared to shower a barrage of missiles, rockets and mortars from Bani Gala, just a few kilometers away from these sites. This correspondent has a copy of the investigation report.

The terrorists had a plan which they devised on the lines of the 9/11 terror strikes in the US, launching attacks at different places simultaneously, the report revealed. The initial missile and rocket attack was to be followed by a commandos like terrorist strike by these militants at the Parliament House where they had planned to storm in, using the suicide bombers and sniper shooters to make their way in, and take the parliamentarians as hostages.

Looking at the things coming out so far from the investigations by the Islamabad Police following the raid on a house in Chatta Bakhtawar last Saturday, on the outskirts of Islamabad, it is becoming more and more evident that a very serious terrorist strike, which could have resulted in huge losses of lives and properties, has been averted.

The information gleaned from a comprehensive investigation report by the Islamabad Police, which has been submitted to the president, the prime minister and federal interior minister, and from the five out of 14 terrorists who were arrested by the Islamabad Police, are certainly blood curdling and had the intelligence agencies and the Islamabad Police not intercepted them so timely, they would have literally rained death and destruction on the federal capital and its inhabitants.

‘The News’ learnt on authority that the detained terrorists have exposed the terrorism plan during the course of investigation saying that they had intended to simultaneously target the Diplomatic Enclave, Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the ISI Headquarters, the Parliament House, the Convention Centre and the Islamabad Club.

The terrorists, who were arrested by the Islamabad Police in the raids, include Mufti Imam Din, son of Karam Khan, resident of Jamia Sumia, Bhara Kahu, Islamabad, who was involved in the kidnapping of Usman Elahi, nephew of the President Supreme Court Bar Association, Ms Asma Jehangir. He got militant training in Afghanistan and is an expert in bomb making. He is a member of the ‘Ghazi Force’, a terrorist outfit.

The second was Qari Muhammad Kamran Ikram, son of Muhammad Ikram, resident of Gujar Khan, district Rawalpindi. He also was involved in the kidnapping of Usman Elahi and is linked with ‘Ghazi Force’. The third is Qari Arshad Ghaznavi, son of Muhammad Khan, resident of Jamia Talha bin Zubair, Bhara Kahu, Islamabad. He also was involved in the kidnapping of Usman Elahi. He received militant training in Afghanistan and had recently been fighting against the Nato forces in Afghanistan as well as against the law enforcing agencies (LEAs) in the South Waziristan and the Aurakzai Agency of Pakistani tribal areas.

The fourth is Mohsin Ali, son of Muhammad Afzal, resident of Bani Gala, Islamabad. He also was involved in the kidnapping of Usman Elahi. He received militant training in Afghanistan and is a member of the ‘Ghazi Force’. He also was previously challanned by the Sihala Police in an act of terror which was registered under FIR no: 147, while the fifth is Muhammad Afzal, a resident of Bani Gala, Islamabad.

During the course of interrogation/investigations by the Islamabad Police these terrorists made very startling revelations about their terror plan, which they had worked out on the same lines as those of 9/11 terror strike in the US, launching attacks at different locations simultaneously.

“Our intention was to launch simultaneous attacks on these targets and that would have created a chaos all over, with the law enforcing agencies, the relief agencies and everybody else caught completely dumbfounded as to where to head and from where to start. This situation would have provided us with a lot of opportunity to take in our suicide bombers and snipers to the strategic locations under any kind of available cover and they would have then launched even more lethal attacks causing more casualties,” revealed the terrorists being interrogated by the Islamabad Police.

They revealed that they had carried out all the reconnaissance of their targets and had even finalized the spots from where they were intending to fire those missiles/rockets at their targets. They revealed during the course of investigations that first they planned to launch these attacks from different locations on the Margalla Hills. But because of the heightened security on the Margalla Hills, they abandoned this plan, the report, quoting the statements of the alleged terrorists, said.

Then they looked for the other options and eventually decided that the hillocks in Bani Gala area were the most suitable for their plan. They revealed that first they quietly carried out comprehensive surveys of their targets located within the ‘Red Zone’, which include the diplomatic missions inside the ‘Diplomatic Enclave’, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, and the ISI Headquarters, the Convention Centre and the Islamabad Club outside the ‘Red Zone’.

“In the beginning we planned to carry out a series of attacks inside Islamabad at more than a dozen places, one after the other. However, during the meetings to chalk out the strategy, which were held in July 2011 in the Qari Hussain Markaz in Miran Shah, North Waziristan, in which Qari Wali Muhammad Toofani, Aashiq Ullah, Hamayun and Dildar took part, it was decided that instead of launching suicide attacks and storming of buildings by the armed militants immediately after the missile/rocket attacks, should be put off for a later stage.

“It was decided that in the first phase only these three targets inside the ‘Red Zone’, i.e. the diplomatic missions inside the Diplomatic Enclave, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and the Parliament House and other three outside the ‘Red Zone’, i.e. the ISI Headquarters, the Convention Centre, and the Islamabad Club, should be targeted by missiles/rockets,” the arrested terrorists revealed during the course of investigations.

They said that the plan was finalized in Miran Shah, North Waziristan and after it was thoroughly thrashed and fine tuned, the logistics started which included shifting of the required arms and ammunition to Islamabad.

The arrested terrorists said that it was a year long dream for the terrorists to carry out such a big terror strike inside Islamabad and they were very excited while preparing the plan. However, they said that the heightened security level and the intelligence agencies made their task quite difficult. Yet, they added, they managed to bring these arms and ammunition and explosive material to this place in Chata Bakhtawar from where it would not have been difficult for them to take all those things to Bani Gala where they had already selected the attack launching sites.

They also divulged during the investigations that a retired officer, who lives in Islamabad, was a big help in providing the technical details about these attacks, the trajectory of the missiles and rockets, their directions and other such matters for which he consulted the ‘Google Earth’ and made so many calculations and consulted relevant web sites too. While the Islamabad Police has already arrested five of these terrorists, another 9 have managed to flee and are still at large.

Inspector General of the Islamabad Police Bani-Amin Khan when contacted by this correspondent for his comments, confirmed the report saying, “I can’t tell details about the report submitted to the government but I can say that the Islamabad police have averted the disastrous attack at sensitive buildings of the federal capital.”